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Bentley’s newly announced CONNECT Edition provides a very complex and deep common environment to extend across work groups and enterprises, without changing the basic file format of the products that users have an investment in already.

Bhupinder Singh, senior vice president at Bentley Systems, gave a keynote Thursday, November 7th at the Bentley Year in Infrastructure 2014 event in which CONNECT Edition was explained to the audience.

Singh began by saying that Bentley’s platform approach is to extend it to include your desktops, servers and handheld devices.

“When you have suites, there is still a disconnect,” said Singh. “A goal was to improve information mobility with CONNECT Edition. When you begin you connect to a project, everyone connects to a project profile, then there is a project playbook, and personal playlist – an individual set of apps for the user.” This is similar to the playlist you get with your Apple iTunes music list.

The benefits are: reducing time it takes to get project started, to get supply chains on board, and the data you have becomes increasingly more valuable.(more…)

Bentley Systems reminds us with a visit to London that the areas of government, water, roads and rails, and utilities are front and center, with building and construction the underpinning of every project. London is abustle with huge infrastructure projects, evidenced by the number of cranes grazing the skyline. There are an estimated 400 cranes operating in the city.

The ability to integrate video surveillance into building information modeling adds a new very important dimension to the design of buildings.Vince Lupe, director of Business Development, Hikvision USA (pronounced “HikeVision”), discussed the way Hikvision’s cameras and video surveillance systems are made an integral part of all architectural design, by being considered in the Building Information Model from the early design phase.

AECCafe Voice: How are Hikvision’s cameras considered CAD elements?

Vince Lupe: System layout and camera field of view are accurately viewed at the earliest stages of the design process, improving device placement, decreasing incompatibility issues, and boosting efficiency overall. In this way, video surveillance is transformed from an afterthought to an architectural cornerstone – a trend that is especially suited for Hikvision’s user-friendly and highly scalable products.

Hikvision’s award-winning array of video surveillance solutions, including bullet, dome, box, turret, PTZ, and fisheye cameras, as well as rackmount and standalone DVRs and NVRs, are all available options. With functionality and usability as Hikvision trademarks, the BIM counterparts to the real-life technology follow suit.

AECCafe Voice: Do users utilize Hikvision content in Autodesk Seek or can it go directly into Autodesk Revit?

Vince Lupe: They can access the content in Seek for use in Revit.

AECCafe Voice: Is the content in the cloud?

Vince Lupe: Not yet. It will be part of our AE portal for easy download and accessibility for our customers.

AECCafe Voice:Can you suggest a sample workflow including Hikvision?

Vince Lupe: An architect, engineer, or security system designer can download Hikvision camera models directly into their BIM model to see exactly where a camera will be placed, what the scene will look like through the camera lens, and what its blind spots might be, allowing for adjustments to be made in terms of the physical construction of the structure, or in terms of the types of cameras and where they will be placed. The BIM model can even be dropped into a three dimensional area of the neighborhood where the building will be located, in order to get a glimpse of what the fields of view of any exterior cameras would be. Important details such as product features, model numbers, and physical characteristics are included in the models for a quick reference to designers and can be changed with a click of the mouse. One of the most important elements of such a streamlined workflow is that it allows for a true collaborative process from the very earliest stages. Electrical wiring, lighting, location of building entrances, and other design elements can be taken into consideration to create the most efficient and effective video surveillance system.

AECCafe Voice:Is the federal government interested in this product or using it currently?

Vince Lupe: We’re thrilled at the prospect that the federal government will be able to incorporate Hikvision into their BIM models, and we’re eager to hear of the success stories from that market.

Nemetschek AG Vectorworks CEO Sean Flaherty spoke with AECCafe Voice about the recent acquisition by Nemetschek of the PDF workflow solution company Bluebeam Software, Inc. Nemetschek will acquire 100% of Bluebeam Software. Headquartered in Pasadena, Calif. Bluebeam is a provider of PDF-based workflow solutions for digital processes and collaboration in the AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction) industry with more than 650,000 users worldwide. Over 74% of the top U.S. companies in the construction industry are Bluebeam customers. According to the company’s own calculations, the use of Bluebeam solutions increases productivity by 60%, reduces the costs of paper and distribution by up to 85%, and leads to a reduction of schedules of 40%. Bluebeam Software offers Bluebeam Revu, which provides PDF creation, markup, editing and collaboration, Bluebeam Vu, a free PDF viewer and Bluebeam for iPad, providing the functionality of Revu especially for mobile users, Bluebeam Q, automating the production of PDFs from original source files, and Bluebeam Studio Enterprise, a server-based solution for collaboration in a locally hosted environment.

Bluebeam Vu

AECCafe Voice: What PDF solution for collaboration was Nemetschek using previously?

Sean Flaherty: For years, Nemetschek Group products have produced high-quality PDF files so we have many customers already using PDF in their standard processes. Until the Bluebeam acquisition, we didn’t have a PDF-centric workflow solution.

The presence of the Mac in CAD computing has been growing over the past few years as the use of the Mac moves into the enterprise. In a recent conversation with Micah Dickerson, software project manager for Autodesk, he discussed the release of AutoCAD for Mac 2015 and AutoCAD LT for Mac 2015 being announced today.

Hewlett-Packard Co said it would split into two listed companies, separating its computer and printer businesses from its corporate hardware and services operations, thereby eliminating another 5,000 jobs that would be part of its “turnaround plan.” The company currently has over 300,000 employees.

The 75-year-old company has been trying to keep pace with the new era of mobile and online computing. HP has no plans to try to go into the consumer mobile devices market. Shares were up 4.4 percent at $36.78 in Monday’s late morning trading.

Chief Executive Meg Whitman told Reuters the newly created HP Inc would mostly stick to its mainstay products– PCs and printers, while exploring related markets such as 3D printing.

Shareholders will own a stake in both businesses through a tax-free transaction next year, said HP. The two businesses each contributes about half of HP’s revenue and profit.

HP’s revenues have increased over the past few years so that they are splitting the company at a time when they have a position of strength. The idea behind the sale is that HP will be able to focus on the more profitable side of its business.

“Shareholders will now be able to invest in the respective asset groups without the fear of cross-subsidies and inefficiencies that invariably plague large business conglomerates,” Ralph Whitworth, former HP chairman and founder of Relational Investors LLC, said in a statement.

Autodesk Excellence in Infrastructure 2014 Awards take into consideration those project that offer some concrete solutions to infrastructure challenges, rather than just citing problems. This approach is inspired by the recent USA-focused Making the Grade report.